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Could I get a little history?

canihazapopcicle

New member
Joined
Jun 7, 2008
Messages
2
Location
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Hello there members of OpenCarry.org

This issue of open carry, as we all know, is very controversial. As a little aid to all of those unframiliar of the history of it all, could I get some facts about this Open Carry website?
I'de just like to get a few facts like,

When was the website founded?
How long have the laws of Open Carry been aplicable in the United States?
Why do you feel it is neccessary to carry a gun with you?

This would just be great to hear from. Thanks again. :lol:
 

Overtaxed

Regular Member
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Nov 7, 2007
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221
Location
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While we're at it, what happened to packing.org? They've been offline for over a year! (But I really, really like this site too!)
 

Tomahawk

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2006
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5,117
Location
4 hours south of HankT, ,
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This website's been around for about 3 years now. It was founded by two self-defense rights activists in Virginia, John Peirce and Mike Stollenwerk, who remain admin and super mod here, respectively.

In most places, there are no "open carry laws" in the U.S. There are usually laws concerning the concealment of firearms, or laws banning the carry of firearms in any manner, but few laws specifically mention open, unconcealed carry.

There is a self-defense rights organization in Virginia called the Virginia Citizens Defense League, which lobbies the state legislators and keeps track of firearms laws in VA. After the monthly membership meetings in Northern Virginia, they liked to go out to a local restaurant for dinner, but Virginia law specifically prohibits the carry of concealed firearms in restaurants that serve alcohol. To stay legal, these folks just pulled their shirts up and exposed their firearms, and sat down to eat.

It then occurred to some people that open carry was no big deal; it didn't cause alarm among the public, and it is comfortable when it is too hot to wear an overgarment. Plus it is a form of activism to boot, increasing the awareness among those who do notice that gun owners are out there and are ordinary folks.

Why do I feel it is necessary to carry a gun with me? If you ask such a question I have to wonder why you have a become a forum member here, we have had some...negative experiences with visitors before. But anyway, bottom line is that crime happens in real life, not just on TV, and when it happens to you thee will be no police officers around to help you for at least a few minutes. In the meantime, you are responsible for defending yourself and your family and friends. Arming yourself for defense of life and liberty is a right, and there's a reason for it.

Hope this answers your question.
 

BobCav

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2007
Messages
2,798
Location
No longer in Alexandria, Egypt
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There are no "laws of open carry" andvery few laws against it, since laws only tell you what you cannot do. So I would say OC in America dates back to thenative Americans, OC'ing their knives, bows and spears.

Only in our present day morally corrupt, socially repressed andcriminal coddling societycould something that has guaranteed our right to defend our lives could be looked down upon with such disdain and disgust.

And no....

you cannohazapopcicle.

:p
 

Bill Starks

State Researcher
Joined
Dec 27, 2007
Messages
4,304
Location
Nortonville, KY, USA
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For me, having a pistol handy is like having a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. I don't want to use either one, but I'd rather have it, than wish I needed it.
 

Alwayspacking

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Apr 23, 2008
Messages
599
Location
Lakewood, Washington, USA
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I will answer your question as to why I carry, but I can't answer your other questions because I am still learning on the matters.
When I was single I carried because I wanted to protect myself from being a random victim of a senseless crime.
Now that I am married with a 7 month of baby, I carry because my family is all I have in this life, and I am all they have in this life. My wife is from the Philippines and her family lives there. My immediate family lives in North Carolina, so each other are all we have in Washington.
If something ever happen to my wife or my son I would be empty without them, they are all I have every wanted in life. They are my complete joy and happiness, and I am blessed to have them. With them taken from me by a thug on the streets everything I have would be taken from me, and if something ever happen to me, their support, their strength, provider, protector,, motivator, a husband and father would never be around again to give them what they need from a loving man.
I can't allow, and I refuse to allow my family to be destroyed by a criminal that is let on the streets because of the leniency of the penal system. That’s why I carry a gun, to protect the myself for my family's sake, and to protect my family for our sake.
 

XD-GEM

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jun 5, 2008
Messages
722
Location
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
imported post

Get yourself a copy of "Thank God I had a Gun" by Chris Byrd. Then read it. You will then start asking yourself why you thought you were safer without one.
 

deepdiver

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Messages
5,820
Location
Southeast, Missouri, USA
imported post

Well, I have information that my numerous great-grandfathers ago open carried in what was to become the United States in the early 1620s, so the laws of open carry (or actually lack thereof or in some cases requirements that all able bodied men carry a firearm at all times) predate the formation of the United States by more than 150 years. I think a good round number as to how long open carry of firearms has been practiced in the US and it's predecessor colonies is 400 years. Obviously, the indigenous peoples open carried non-firearm weapons for some 10-12,000 years prior to that.

Open carry "laws" were formally adopted in 1791 with the passage of the Bill of Rights, the United States Constitution being the highest law in our nation. The Second Amendment codified protection against government infringement of our natural right to open carry weapons . So in that regard one could argue that open carry "laws" have been applicable in the United States (as opposed to it's predecessor gov'ts) for about 217 years. In any regard, open carry has been legal in most of the United States for in excess of 200 years no matter how you slice it.
 

Oubliette

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Messages
33
Location
Louisville, Kentucky, USA
imported post

For me it’s not political, it’s not “because I can”, I’m not making a statement or testing the system. I’m the single mother of a beautiful little girl. That’s all the reason I need to carry and be able to handle a gun. If something were to befall her because I was unable to prevent it, I wouldn’t be able to live with it.

In addition I read the papers and ask myself how many lives could have been saved if just one of the V tech students or faculty had been armed? Or a teacher at Columbine. Or a patron at the mall? God knows I don’t ever want to take a life, but I could never forgive myself if I watched and did nothing while innocent people were harmed.
It’s really just that simple.
 

SouthernBoy

Regular Member
Joined
May 12, 2007
Messages
5,837
Location
Western Prince William County, Virginia, USA
imported post

By virtue of the fact that you asked the question about why we feel it necessary to carry a gun, I can't help but question your motives for entering/joining this site. I hope they are honorable.

There are a bunch of good people here who just happen to believe in something very basic and wish to protect their rights and the things important to them in their life. You have already heard from several. Please do enjoy your stay here and learn much.
 

AbNo

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2007
Messages
3,805
Location
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
imported post

M1Gunr wrote:
For me, having a pistol handy is like having a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. I don't want to use either one, but I'd rather have it, than wish I needed it.

That reminds me... I should get one of those.... (the extinguisher, that is...)
 

protector84

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2007
Messages
624
Location
Arizona, U.S.
imported post

How many of us feel safer upon entering "gun free zones?" Probably none of us. If one of those teachers at Columbine or a student at Virginia Tech had been carrying, many lives would have been saved but there was a reason none of them were carrying--because doing so was illegal or prohibited by policy. I was talking to a girl I had seen a few times at a nightclub and the subject of safety came up. We were out front where the smokers go. Here in Arizona they have a prohibition on firearms in places that serve alcohol but there is no prohibition on other weapons. This applies to both OC and CC. This girl said that she keeps a few blades on her which is legal in the bar as long as she has a CCW permit or the knives are just small ordinary pocket knives. I told her I havea CCW permit but that by law it is a class 2 misdemeanor to bring a gun in a bar. I told her that I carry a switchblade and pepperspray which is legal. She asked me why I don't have my gun on me right now. I said to her, "Didn't I tell you that we aren't allowed to?" Here was her response: "What is more valuable to you? Being legal and dead or committing a mere misdemeanor and saving your life and perhaps dozens of others?" She had a point. While alcohol and guns don't mix, if a Virginia Tech incident was about to happen in the bar/restaurant that you were currently at, do you really want your gun to be locked away outside at the car? Luby's Cafeteria comes to mind here.
 

Venator

Anti-Saldana Freedom Fighter
Joined
Jan 10, 2007
Messages
6,462
Location
Lansing area, Michigan, USA
imported post

Tomahawk wrote:
This website's been around for about 3 years now. It was founded by two self-defense rights activists in Virginia, John Peirce and Mike Stollenwerk, who remain admin and super mod here, respectively.

In most places, there are no "open carry laws" in the U.S. There are usually laws concerning the concealment of firearms, or laws banning the carry of firearms in any manner, but few laws specifically mention open, unconcealed carry.

There is a self-defense rights organization in Virginia called the Virginia Citizens Defense League, which lobbies the state legislators and keeps track of firearms laws in VA. After the monthly membership meetings in Northern Virginia, they liked to go out to a local restaurant for dinner, but Virginia law specifically prohibits the carry of concealed firearms in restaurants that serve alcohol. To stay legal, these folks just pulled their shirts up and exposed their firearms, and sat down to eat.

It then occurred to some people that open carry was no big deal; it didn't cause alarm among the public, and it is comfortable when it is too hot to wear an overgarment. Plus it is a form of activism to boot, increasing the awareness among those who do notice that gun owners are out there and are ordinary folks.

Why do I feel it is necessary to carry a gun with me? If you ask such a question I have to wonder why you have a become a forum member here, we have had some...negative experiences with visitors before. But anyway, bottom line is that crime happens in real life, not just on TV, and when it happens to you thee will be no police officers around to help you for at least a few minutes. In the meantime, you are responsible for defending yourself and your family and friends. Arming yourself for defense of life and liberty is a right, and there's a reason for it.

Hope this answers your question.

Here is his/her other post, so now you know what he/she is about.

[align=center]"Well this video is mostly full of crap. All of his words and ideals are being twisted around to make him become the villan. I think we need to think about the people who don't bear guns or other firearms, like Obama. The thought of anyone with a gun is threatening and almost sinister. It freaks citizens out, and it also freaks obama out. In reality, the majority of American citizens can relate and agree with him on there decisions. He knows what he's doing."
[/align]
 

AbNo

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2007
Messages
3,805
Location
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
imported post

Vent, I'm guessing you're talking about Popsicle's other post, which you've quoted there?

I had a little trouble figuring out what you'd meant.
 

Oubliette

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Messages
33
Location
Louisville, Kentucky, USA
imported post

Yes he was… (took me a sec too) And if Popsicle thinks the idea of a law-abiding citizenwith a weaponis sinister just wait until some punk with no compunctions about taking an innocent life shoves a revolver in his/her face threatens to kill you if you don’t comply. I happened to my brother. Pop will be wishing someone who could help was there. Why don’t people understand that the criminals will NEVER care what the laws say, they WILL have guns, and they will use them?
 

Leader

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
274
Location
Livingston Co., Michigan, , USA
imported post

Oubliette wrote:
Yes he was… (took me a sec too) And if Popsicle thinks the idea of a law-abiding citizenwith a weaponis sinister just wait until some punk with no compunctions about taking an innocent life shoves a revolver in his/her face threatens to kill you if you don’t comply. I happened to my brother. Pop will be wishing someone who could help was there. Why don’t people understand that the criminals will NEVER care what the laws say, they WILL have guns, and they will use them?

No... It will just convince him/her that they are right. Guns should be outlawed. If guns were illegal, this thug couldn't have assaulted me.

The fact that we already have laws against robbing or raping people doesn't seem to sink in to these people. Take away the gun & everything will be alright.
 

MamaLiberty

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2006
Messages
894
Location
Newcastle, Wyoming, USA
imported post

Each human being absolutely OWNS their own body and all property honestly obtained. Complete personal responsibility for our choices and actions - meaning that we must live with (and pay for, if necessary) the consequences of those actions - is the other side of that coin. You can't really have one without the other. That is the basis for all real law, what we call the "non-aggression principle." You can do whatever you wish with your life and property, as long as it does not actually harm another person.

We each have an inalienable OBLIGATION to defend ourselves and those who look to us, by whatever means necessary. We must defend ourselves against those who would aggress against us and harm us. We must also defend ourselves against those who would deny us the use of our body or the exercise of our personal responsibility.

All this is about far more than just carrying a gun, obviously. The gun is simply one (perhaps the best) tool for doing the job.

That's why this old lady carries a .45 ACP wherever she goes, and even at home. :)
 

Oubliette

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Messages
33
Location
Louisville, Kentucky, USA
imported post

MamaLiberty wrote:
Each human being absolutely OWNS their own body and all property honestly obtained. Complete personal responsibility for our choices and actions - meaning that we must live with (and pay for, if necessary) the consequences of those actions ...You can do whatever you wish with your life and property, as long as it does not actually harm another person.
You Go GIRL, lol. My dad used to say it in simple language. “Your rights stop at the end of my nose”, but that is exactly what he was teaching his children. And I live by it.
 
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